A man lost his life on Monday after he was beaten by a man who claimed to have caught him (the deceased) with his wife in their matrimonial bed in Bungoma.

The suspect, Wafubwa Makhanu, who works in another town, is said to have returned home unannounced at about 6 am when he found Christantus Wafula in his bed.

Witnesses said Mr Makhanu attacked his love rival and also sought help from his neighbours who assisted him in beating up Wafula, K24 reported.

Confirming the incident, the chairman of the local policing community Agnesa Wekesa said the slain man was well-known in the area.

“I was still in my house when I received a phone call from one of my officers that someone had been found in his neighbour’s bedroom sleeping with another man’s wife and he was being beaten to death. I rushed to the scene and found he was beaten badly. I asked the mob to stop the beating,” he said.

“I asked the man of the house where he was when the man entered his house and he said that he had left for work but he used to suspect that something was going on before he arrived unexpectedly and caught them red-handed. Police arrived on time and stopped the mob from lynching the man,” Wekesa added.

The 43-year-old was rushed to the Bungoma County Referral Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The village elder, Patrick Wafula Mukonyero, said the woman fled from the mob leaving behind her lover.

“I am very shocked because this man is well known in this area and he does not take alcohol. He only drinks tea and people usually say that it’s only drunkards who mess up and engage in such bad vices,” said Mukonyero.

Police have since launched investigations into the matter, Bungoma South police boss Wilson Nanga said.